1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a car mirror angling device which pivots its mirror through a presettable angle upon actuation of a solenoid. More particularly, this invention relates to apparatus for limited angling of a car mirror by actuation of a solenoid to overcome "blind spots." Such spots are encountered with ordinary mirrors as a vehicle overtakes the car upon which the ordinary mirror is mounted.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In automobiles, trucks, etc., a hazard exists due to the lack of complete rear view visibility. These are "blind spots" in the rearview mirror employed.
Efforts have been made to increase the degree of this visibility. These efforts primarily involved the positioning of mirrors both on the inside and the outside of the vehicle. The fixed mirrors employed usually consisted of a reflecting element mounted on a ball and socket arrangement. The driver twisted the mirror element into a position which would give him the most advantageous view. Unfortunately, because these mirrors were usually fixed, they could only overcome a portion of the blind spots.
To add versatility to the mirrors, angling devices were designed which enabled the mirror to oscillate on its support. These angling devices were incorporated into the mirror housing to tilt the reflecting element in a desired direction. Some of them oscillated thereby to scan the rear view and hopefully eliminate blind spots. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,199,015, 3,486,811 and 3,519,335 were based on this theory. All three were operated to tilt the mirror in either a left or right direction by actuation of the vehicle's turn signal lever. Unfortunately, all were not only quite bulky in structure, but also failed to eliminate blind spots because they were designed to be mounted on the inside of the car.
Subsequently other angling devices were designed to be used on the outside of the car. U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,658 is typical. There an outside, continuously oscillating, mirror scans the field of vision. Unfortunately, the device of said patent only works under ideal conditions. At the preferred oscillatory rate (15 to 20 RPM), the rate of scan is too slow so that an oncoming vehicle is occassionally allowed to "slip by" without being seen. If the oscillating rate is increased, the driver's eyes cannot keep track of the mirror. Therefore, this type of continual oscillation only creates a false sense of security and does not alleviate the problem.
An object of this invention is to eliminate blind spots commonly present in vehicles.
Another object is to provide a simple and compact structure for a car mirror to overcome blind spots.
Another object is to provide a car mirror of such type suitable for numerous drivers.
A further object is to provide apparatus to tilt the mirror only at the driver's will.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.